On my epic England trip to visit my fiancée and her family, the Surrey Oaks was appropriately the first and last stop. This cozy and welcoming village gastropub will always hold a special place in my heart as it is where I drank my first-ever real British ale. The craft beer selection here is small but mighty and rotates frequently with the finest brews from across the UK.
Inspired by the Craft Beer Channel on YouTube, I put together a UK Brews Wish List on Untappd that I was determined to seek out. It immediately became clear that the Surrey Oaks was my pub of destiny as it had two beers by Verdant Brewing Co. who was heavily featured on my Wish List. I enjoyed every sip of Verdant's Neal Gets Things Done (hazy single IPA) and I Played Double Bass On That Tune (double dry hopped IPA) with both earning a 5/5 rating on Untappd. Amazingly, these first two ales of my England adventure ended up being the best beers I had the entire two weeks. Other delicious brews I savored during my four visits to the Surrey Oaks were Bring the Long Night by Weird Beard Brew Co. (sour ale), Ranmore Ale by Surrey Hills Brewery (English pale ale), Crate Brewery IPA, India Pale Ale Citra by The Kernel Brewery, and Green Hopped IPA by Dark Star Brewing Co. Every single beer received a rating of 4.25 or higher on Untappd, showing the consistent high quality of the brews on tap at the Surrey Oaks.
Maybe even more impressive than the beers at the Surrey Oaks is the rustic and versatile environment. This is a local pub where friends and family bring their dogs to chat and savor craft food and beverage. For my fiancée and I, the Surrey Oaks acted as the perfect spot for a date night and the ideal place to meet with the caterer for our marriage blessing. On my last night in England, the Surrey Oaks was the obvious choice for a bittersweet dinner with my fiancée. We used a "Buy 1 Get 1 half-off" coupon for the pub's famous wood-fired pizzas and selected two of the Chef's Choice varieties: Four Cheese (norbury blue, goats cheese, manchago, mozzarella) + spiced ground beef, chorizo sausage, and bacon drizzled with barbecue sauce. Both pizzas were absolutely scrumptious and made even tastier with two proper pints of pale ale. The Surrey Oaks will undoubtedly be my first stop again when I return to Newdigate next year. Cheers! read more